Scranimals

Starred review from August 28, 2006
Berger's (Not So True Stories & Unreasonable Rhymes
) inventive, textured collages add up to a visual treat in this first-rate collection of Prelutsky poems. Readers will behold not only the bold umbrellaphant, whose trunk is literally an umbrella, but also more than a dozen other amusing creatures who (similar to the hybrid mythical beasts of Prelutsky's Scranimals
) are a cross between an actual animal and an inanimate object, and exhibit combined traits of both. "The Solitary Spatuloon," its body shaped like a black spatula with wings, cries "Syrup!" plaintively, flipping pancakes with its tail. ("Its tail, we note, is well designed/ With this peculiar task in mind.") Especially clever are "The Tearful Zipperpotamuses," whose bodies are zippers that keep unzipping, "So they worry and they fret/ That their insides will fall outside,/ Though this hasn't happened yet." The clever rhymes do not miss a beat, and Berger's collages brim with both unusual visual humor and irony. She pictures the Clocktopus ("Its tentacles in tempo/ With the clock upon its face") with as many clocks, pocket watches and wristwatches as it has appendages, none of them synchronized; and "The Ballpoint Penguins" swoop like ice skaters on lined pages used for cursive writing exercises—the critters "do little else but write and write./ Although they've nothing much to say,/ They write and write it anyway." Young readers will behold a wonderful, fantastically silly book. Ages 4-up.

February 20, 2006
"The meisters of madcap are at it again," said PW
's starred review. "This time, Prelutsky and Sís head off on safari to Scranimal Island, an exotic spot full of odd hybrid creatures just ripe for their devious brand of silliness." Ages 4-up.

January 1, 2007
Gr 2-6-Jack Prelutsky brings his collection of poetry to life in this recording. The real treat, though, is Prelutsky simply but dramatically singing his words, in addition to reading the text. The premise of the verse lies in combining an animal and an inanimate object. "What do you get when you cross a toaster with a toad? A tuba with a baboon? A clock with an octopus? A hat with a chicken? An umbrella with an elephant? Why]A pop-up toadster, a tubaboon, the clockopus, a hatchicken and the bold umbrellaphant." Kids will appreciate the raw silliness of the verse, as well as the exercise in imagination required to envision such characters. In addition to the verse from the title book (Greenwillow, 2006), Prelutsky also reads from two other similar titles, "What a Day It Was in School!" (Greenwillow, 2006) and "Scranimals" (Greenwillow, 2002). Be sure to have the title book available so that listeners can also look at Carrie Berger's photo cut-paper collage illustrations that are a visual treat. Teachers may want to use this title as a springboard for their classes' own inventions. Perfect for leisure listening as well as poetry and word study units."Kirsten Martindale, formerly Menomonie Public Library, WI"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2002
Gr. 2-4, younger for reading aloud. Prelutsky and Sis follow previous titles such as " The Gargoyle on the Roof "(1999) with another beautifully illustrated collection of nonsense verse that celebrates creatures of the imagination who, described in singsong verse, are "sailing to Scranimal Island." Each spread features a different "scrambled" creature that is often a hybrid of animal and vegetable. There is the "sleek," snakelike Bananconda; a pride of green Broccolions; and a fierce Radishark, whose enormous, red fish-head comes complete with a radish-root snout. Prelutsky's language is uneven, and despite the humor and some delicious rhymes, many selections are stilted and slightly forced. It is Sis' fantastical illustrations that will generate the most excitement. His beasts shine with seemingly irrepressible personalities, and he creates a layered story in the scenes of a boy and girl who travel through the enchanted, slightly prehistoric otherworld. Read this aloud to small groups so that children can crowd up close and take in the jokes and the fantasy in the glorious images.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)

Starred review from June 24, 2002
The meisters of madcap are at it again. This time, Prelutsky and Sís (The Dragons Are Singing Tonight) head off on safari to Scranimal Island, an exotic spot full of odd hybrid creatures just ripe for their devious brand of silliness. Whether tracking a caravan of Camelberta Peaches ("All have humpy, bumpy backs,/ Stocked with water, juice, and snacks,/ So the creatures never need/ Wonder where to drink or feed"), avoiding the clutches of the dread Radishark ("Its appalling, bulbous body/ Is astonishingly red,/ And its fangs are sharp and gleaming/ In its huge and horrid head") or spying on the Bananaconda ("How sinuous and sly you are,/ How slippery, how yellow"), they scramble up a smorgasbord of flora and fauna. Prelutsky tweaks language with his characteristic glee, wedging in plenty of humor ("Poor Avocadodos,/ Ungainly and green,/ You're gone from today's/ Biological scene") and, as always when Sís is on board, his exquisite artistry raises the bar, adding depth to Prelutsky's light verse. Plying his trademark delicate line and crosshatching, Sís sets off the fantastic creatures against spare, expansive vistas, investing the muted ink-and-watercolor illustrations with a quizzically visionary style. A pair of brightly clad young explorers lurk at the edge of each scene, adding a droll visual grace note. All ages.

January 1, 2003
On Scranimal Island, intrepid explorers will find such scrambled creatures as Ostricheetahs (who run very fast but also stick their heads in the sand) and Spinachickens (rather dimwitted green creatures who wilt in the heat). The verses are humorous, in the usual Prelutsky way--peppy, singsongy, and clever. The simultaneously imaginative and concrete illustrations transform this collection of related poems into a unified whole.

(Copyright 2003 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from September 1, 2002
Gr 2-5-Pre-lutsky introduces the curious inhabitants of Scranimal Island through his skillful and captivating poems. The creatures, such as the Mangorilla and Orangutangerine, are each a cross between an animal and a fruit, vegetable, or flower, and behave accordingly. For instance, "On a bump beside a road/Sits a lowly POTATOAD, /Obviously unaware/Of its own existence there./On its coarse and warty hide, /It has eyes on every side, /Eyes that fail, apparently, /To take note of what they see." S's's illustrations are a wonderful combination of the eerie and humorous (readers might be reminded of his fantastical island in Komodo! [Greenwillow, 1993]), and give children a visual clue as to the creature's elements, in case they haven't figured it out yet. (A rebus-like chart on the back cover is more explicit, illustrating "potato + toad = potatoad", etc.) Hippopotamushrooms smile benevolently from their forest floor, the Pandaffodil munches bamboo beatifically, majestic Broccolions stalk the lithe Antelopetunia. These black-line and watercolor illustrations in a light palette take up three-quarters of each spread; the verses, in large and legible black type, accompany them on a pastel-tinged antique paper background. On occasion on this island, readers may come across a creature that is a cross of two animals (no plant matter involved), such as the Ostricheetah or the Stormy Petrelephant. Though as eloquently described, they are simply not as funny as the Porcupineapple or the Avocadodos, and somehow spoil the fun. The point of nonsense, after all, is to stick to the rules-just, the wrong rules. Nevertheless, Prelutsky and S's have pulled off something great here-it is their best collaboration to date.-Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA

Copyright 2002 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.